Health and Media

In all our studies on gender and health one angle is particularly

overlooked or perhaps ignored. That angle is the influence of
media on health. I think it should come as no surprise if I say
that the media is an important institution when it comes to
shaping our gender roles and gender identities (It is known as
the fourth estate). Does it have any influence on health as
well? This idea cannot be generalized to include both men and
women but the media does create a very powerful notion of
masculinity and what it is to be a man. The medias images of
what a true man is can be divided into two broad categories.
The manly man and the new man. The manly man does not
take care of his health and considers it to be effeminate and a
sign of weakness. Our action heroes are shot at and bleed
profusely yet they refuse to get any treatment whatsoever
because that is not how real men would react. They are also
gruff and dirty not caring about personal hygiene or
appearance. On the other hand the new man actively cares
about his health, looks after himself and is generally very
presentable. Another very interesting thing regarding these
images. The notion of class operates within both these
representations. The new man is urban and is generally
affluent while the manly man usually belongs to the working
class. Thus the media creates two standards of health for two
distinct sets of people. Let us also not forget that many things
that we learn of health we learn from the media like popular
procedures, new developments in medicine, health tips etc. So
when we try to analyze health from a gendered perspective we
should always remember to incorporate the powerful force that
the media is in shaping discourses surrounding health.